Not many birds, quite a bit of mammal biomass.

First, note the update to yesterday's post.

I had meant to get up early for a seawatch and a pound round the Mill gardens etc looking for any migrants. However I unaccountably missed my 5.30 alarm call (perceptive readers might link that with yesterday’s Diamond White comment), and in the event I didn’t get out until teatime.

It was very very quiet – occasional Willow Warbler houeet from the bushes, but apart from a flyover Eurasian Sparrowhawk, nothing.

However I did collect this impressive haul of dead shrews. The Pygmy Shrew at left is so old it’s almost a fossil. Common Shrew in middle is nice and fresh, and the Common Shrew at right is nicely middling.

There was a White-throated Dipper on the beach, too. And this mess of a hybrid Hooded x Carrion Crow on the rocks.

Offshore, for a mere 30 min from 17:45-18:15, lots more Black-legged Kittiwakes, a pitiful 2 Northern Gannets and that was it. EXCEPT a flock of 4 White-beaked Dolphins that started breaching. I tried to get a photo, but the problem is that between pressing the shutter and getting the image, the beautiful sight of a dolphin arching gracefully through the air in delight becomes a rather embarrassing, 2.5-scoring and rather sore-looking bellyflop splash.

Mystery photograph, anyone? Clue, the bird is flying off to the right.